JMK38

My husband and I will be in Chile in early February, staying 3 nights in Santiago and 2 nights in Valparaiso. During our time in Santiago, we would like to take a day trip and are looking for ideas.
One thing that comes to mind is a day trip to wineries in the region. I have heard of the wine tour company "Uncorked" and also would like to hear some other ideas.
What are some other day trip ideas that are feasible/interesting/enjoyable from Santiago?
Thank you in advance.

JMK38

Anyone??

monpetit

Winery could be done on the way to Valparaiso.
I will do a day in Canjon de Maipo.
Lost of typical views, nice little towns, some hikes less or more easy.
The hike to El Morado national monument is easy and very nice.
More challenging the hike to The hanging glacier worth the effort...
Near the city a whole day in nature is the park of aguas de ramon with some more or less difficult hikes and falls.
Erik

mariettamom

A day trip to a winery is a fine idea and there are several tour companies that can help you. We have been to Chile twice - most recently last November to visit Torres del Paine which was breathtaking. Our last day we had an early a.m. flight from Punta Arenas to Santiago, then a 12-hour layover. So we booked a day trip with A Perfect Day http://www.perfectday.cl/santiago.html - they took us to Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's homes, and a couple of wineries. It was fabulous. Beautiful tour and very friendly/professional guides.

Yes, you could do a winery or two on your way to Valparaiso... but honestly I would give Valpo as much time as you can. It is beautiful, fascinating, and the food was better. (We love seafood, so of course it will be better on the coast.)

We have now been to all three of Neruda's homes (there's one in Santiago, another in Valparaiso, and then Isla Negra is further south from Valpo). Isla Negra is the largest and most elaborate, my favorite - although all three are worth visiting.

If you have a chance to go back to Chile, I would HIGHLY recommend both Torres del Paine and the Atacama Desert. Two very different regions but OH! so beautiful and worth the time/trouble to visit.

HTH.
Karen

JMK38

Thanks, mariettamom - great suggestion. It sounds like you covered a lot of territory on your day trip: 2 wineries and Isla Negra. How long was your day trip - 8 hours? How long was the drive back to your hotel?

I agree with you re: Valp. I don't want to do wineries on the way to Valpo because I want us to have plenty of time to explore Valp, so I am thinking one full day trip from Santiago to do something similar to what you did.

Thank you very much.